Ridley Scott Reveals New Name for Prometheus Sequel

The Prometheus sequel has undergone another name change, as Ridley Scott reveals it is no longer called Alien: Paradise Lost. It will still be more explicitly connected to the Alien series, however, as the new title was revealed to be Alien: Covenant.

Scott casually dropped the second name change during a wide-ranging interview at AFI Film Fest, while discussing his acclaimed space epic, The Martian:

"I was going to be doing what will be called 'Alien: Covenant,' which starts shooting next February, and we were struggling then with the screenplay there and then there was a phone call, somebody saying, 'Listen, we've got this thing which is completely written called 'Martian,' and I said, 'Huh.' And I sped read it in an hour and by mid-afternoon, I talked to Fox and said, 'I need to talk to 'Drew [Goddard]…'"

I personally liked Paradise Lost better than Covenant, as it sounded a little less action sequel-ish, but it likely doesn't signify a notable change in plot. Not only do both titles capitalize on the Alien franchise rather than the far inferior Prometheus, but they both have biblical themes that are in line with the new Engineer mythology. "Covenant" refers to agreements between the Israelites and God, which is consistent with the series's exploration of humankind's relationship with our creators.

Alien: Covenant (or whatever it's ultimately called) is slated to be released on May 30, 2017.